rass Growing 



for Profit. 




EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY 

William S. Myers, f.c.s., Director, 

Nitrate of Soda Propaganda, 

Late of New Jersey State Agricultural College, 

12-16 JOHN STREET, NEW YORK. 



GRASS GROWING 

FOR PROFIT. 



A Short Compilation of Experimental 

Work on the Effects of Nitrate 

of Soda on Hay Crops. 

Including Some Directions for the Preparation 
of Land and Harvesting the Crop. 



WILLIAM S. MYERS. 



EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY 

WILLIAM S. MYERS, F.C.S., Director, 

Nitrate oif Soda Propaganda, 

Late of New Jersey State Agricultural College, 

12-16 JOHN STREET, NEW YORK 



^^ ^ 







1 . Product of one square foot of ground 2. Product of one square foot of ground 

in field yielding over three tons per acre of in adjoining field (not fertilized with Nitrate 

cured timothy hay. of Soda) yielding one ton per acre of cured 

hay. 
Highland Experimental Farms, New York. 



fiomree unknown 

Ja '07 



Grass Growing for Profit. 



Approximately sixty millions of tons of timothy hay 
are grown every year in the United States on about forty 
millions of acres of meadow-land. Beginning at the seaboard 
and going west, the chief hay-producing States are : New 
York, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, 
Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Kansas. New York alone has 
nearly five millions of acres on which is produced upwards 
of six millions of tons of hay. These ten States, which may 
be said to constitute the Hay Belt of the United States, 
have a total of 27,140,365 acres on which were grown in 
1903, 40,326,229 tons of hay. These figures are mentioned 
to show the magnitude of our grass-growing industry. Of 
course, grass is grown more or less extensively in all of the 
States, but the States mentioned are the leaders and produce 
the great bulk of our annual crop of timothy hay, and in 
1903 they produced 67 per cent, of the total crop. 

Timothy and related grasses feed heavily on Nitrogen ; 
they are able to transform it completely into wholesome and 
digestible animal food. When full rations of plant food 
are present a good crop of grass will remove about the 
equivalent of the active fertilizer ingredients of 300 pounds 
of Nitrate of Soda, 200 pounds sulphate of potash and 400 
pounds of Peruvian guano or phosphate of high grade. 
These amounts are recommended to be applied per acre as 
top-dressing for old grass lands where intensive fertilization 
is well understood and practiced; and if wood ashes are avail- 
able 600 pounds per acre will be very beneficial in addition 
to the above. Grass lands get sour easily, especially when 
very old, and when they do, one ton of lime per acre should 
be harrowed in before seeding down anew. The seeding 
should be done before September, and the above-mentioned 
ration should be used as a top-dressing the following spring, 
as soon as the grass begins to show growth. 

If all the conditions are favorable, from three to five 
tons of clean barn-cured hay, free from weeds, may reason- 



Grass ably be expected. When grass crops are heavy and run as 

Growing j^-^j^ ^^ f^^^. ^^^ one-half or more tons per acre field-cured, 

^° ^^' it is safe to allow 20 per cent, shrinkage in weight for 

4 seasoning and drying down to a barn-cured basis. Nitrate 

of Soda, the chief constituent of the prescribed ration, pushes 

the grass early and enables it to get ahead of all weeds, and 

the crop then feeds profitably and fully on the other 

manurial constituents present in the fertilizer mentioned in 

the formula and present In the soil. 




Clearing Land for Seeding. 



When Nitrate costs about ^50.00 per ton and clean 
hay sells ^16.00 per ton the financial results are very satis- 
factory. Nitrate can sometimes be used alone for a season 
or two and at very great profit, but a full grass ration is 
better in the long run for both the soil and crop. Generally 
speaking, 100 pounds of Nitrate, if used under proper condi- 
tions, will produce an increase of from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds 
of barn-cured, clean timothy hay, the value of which will 
average from $8.00 to $10.00. The cost of 100 pounds of 
Nitrate is likely to average $2.30 to ^2,60, // pays well to 
use Nitrate liberally on grass lands. 



A reliable, heavy Top-Dressing formula for Grass Grass 

Lands per acre : p'"7'"e 

300 lbs. Nitrate of Soda. for Profit. 
zoo lbs. muriate of potash, or 1,000 pounds of wood ashes. 5 

400 lbs. Peruvian guano or acid phosphate. 

900 lbs. 

Making Two Blades of Grass Grow W^here 
One Blade Grew Before. 

Abstract and Review of Rhode Islaqd Experiments. 

Grass is a responsive crop and the part played by 
mineral chemical fertilizers, as has been proven in Rhode 
Island, show the striking effect of Nitrate on yields and 
feeding quality. 

Since all the other fertilizers were aHke for the three 
plats and had been for many years, and since the general 
character of the soil and the treatments the plats had received 
were uniform, any differences must be ascribed to the influ- 
ence of the varying quantities of Nitrate of Soda. These 
differences, so far as they are shown by the weights of the 
crops for four years are given in brief below : 

Yield of Cured Hay Under Different Rates 
of Nitrogenous Fertilization. 

Yield of Cured Hay Average 

r „ , ,. , i8qq 1900 1901 1902 Yields 

Nitrate of Soda applied ^bs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. in Tons. 

None 5.075 4,000 3,290 2,950 1.9 

150 lbs. per acre* ... .6,300 5,600 5,550 4,850 28 

450 lbs. per acre*. ... 6,913 8,200 9,390 8,200 4.1 
*A mount slightly reduced in 1901 and 1902. 

These figures show a uniform, consist- -wru^^ .Ug 
ent and marked advantage f 7' om the use of pjp„j.pg Show 
Nitrate Nitrogen; and the effect of its 
absence is shown by the steady decline of the yields en the 
no-Nitrate plat from year to year. In each year the use 
of 150 pounds of Nitrate gave increased yields over the 
plat without Nitrogen, the gain varying from 1,200 to 
almost 2,300 pounds, an average gain of about seven-eighths 
of a ton of hay. Three times this amount of Nitrate did 
not, of course, give three times as much hay, but it so 
materially increased the yield as to show that it was all used 
to good advantage except, perhaps, in the second year. 
This was an exceptionally dry year and but one crop could 



Grass bg cut. The advantage from the Nitrate showed strikingly 
Growing -^^ ^^^ production of a rapid and luxuriant early growth 
°^ ^° '^' while moisture was still available. This supply of readily 

6 soluble food comes just when it is most needed, since the 

natural change of unavailable forms of Nitrogen in the soil 
to the soluble Nitrates proceeds very slowly during the cool, 
moist weather of spring. The full ration of Nitrogen, 450 
pounds of Nitrate, more than doubled the yield of hay over 
that produced on the no-Nitrate plat in 1900 and in the 
next two years it nearly tripled the yield. The average 




Types of Characteristic Rocic Shattering ( i). 
Preparing Land for Seeding. 

increase over the i co-pound plat was one and three-tenths 
tons and over the plat without Nitrogen was two and five- 
eighths tons. 

Effect on Quality of Hay. 

Almost as marked, and certamiy more 
surprising and unexpected, was the effect 
of the Nitrate upon the quality of the hay 
produced. 

The hay from the plats during the first 
season was of such diverse character that different ton values 



How Nitrate 
Improves the 
Quality of the 
Hay. 



had to be placed upon it in estimating the profit from the Grass 
use of fertilizers. That from the no-Nitrate plat, since it Growing 
contained so much clover at both cuttings, was considered °^ ^° '^' 
worth only ^9.00 a ton ; the first cutting on the small 7 

Nitrogen ration was valued at ^12.00 and the second 
cutting at 1 10.00; while $16.00 and 1 12.00 were the values 
given to the first and second cuttings respectively on the 
plat receiving the full ration of Nitrate. 

But the reduction in the percentage of clover was not 
the only benefit to the quality of the hay. The Nitrate also 
decreased the proportion of redtop as compared with the 
finer timothy. This tendency was noticed in the second 
year, when a count of the stalks on selected equal and 
typical areas showed 13 per cent, of timothy on the 150- 
pound plat, and 44 per cent, on the 450-pound plat. In 
the third year the percentages of timothy were 39 per 
cent, and 67 per cent., respectively, and in the fourth year 
the differences were even more marked. 

Timothy is a grass which will not tol- . aiv i- 

erate an acid soil, and it is probable that the e -i ivr 

... . .' 1 ^ f o J.J ^ Soil Necessary 

liming given these plats in 1097 ^^d. not c p 

make them as "sweet " as would have been 

best for this crop. Now, when Nitrate of Soda is used by 

plants, more of the Nitric acid is used than of the soda and 

a certain portion of the latter, which is an alkali, is left to 

combine with other free acids of the soil. This, like lime, 

neutralizes the acids and thus " sweetens" tt i^t. 

the soil for the timothy. Redtop, on the jyr .. 

contrary, does well on soils which are c -i a -j _■ 
r u^i -A ^ 1^ u ^u A Soil Acids and 

slightly acid, and so would have the advan- 5, . 

tage over timothy in a soil not perfectly <^ ., 

sweet. With the assistance of the soda set 

free from the Nitrate, the timothy was more than able to 

hold its own and thus to make what the market calls a 

finer, better hay ; and since the market demands timothy 

and pays for it, the farmer who sells hay is wise if he meets 

the demand. 

Financial Profit from Use of Nitrate. 

Frequently more plant food is paid for „ j. p 
and put on the land than the crop can 
possibly use, the excess being entirely thrown away, or, at 



Grass best, saved to benefit some subsequent crop. This was 
Growing ^^^ from the case in these trials. Indeed, it was found by 

'- analysis of the hay that more potash was removed by the 

^ crops of the first two years than had been added in the 
muriate used, consequently the amount applied upon each 
plat was increased in 1901 and in 1902. The Nitrogen 
requirement of the crops was found to be slightly less than 
was supplied in 450 pounds of Nitrate and the amount was 
reduced to 400 pounds in 1 901 , and to 41 5 pounds in 1 902, 
The Nitrate on the second plat was also reduced in pro- 




Types of characteristic Rock Shattering (2). 

portion. The phosphoric acid, however, was probably in 
considerable excess, since liming sets free phosphoric acid 
already in the soil and so lessens the apparent financial 
profit; but not to an excessive degree. 



Excess of Value of Hay Over Cost of Fertilizers. 

Nitrate of Soda „ . 

applied 1899 1900 1 90 1 190^ Average 

None ^6.09 ^13-42 ^i2-'3 ^7-44 $9-77 

150 lbs.* I4'34 20.37 23.97 16.52 18.80 

450 lbs.* 19.62 30-40 40.70 32.74 30.86 

* Slightly reduced in 1901 and 1902. 



What Percentage of Water Does Hay Grass 

T T^ • r-i ^ Growing- 

Lose During Storage ? for Profit. 

Hay which had been stored during the summer of 9 

1 901 was removed from the rnow the following February, 
and found to contain 12.21 per cent, of water. A careful 
comparison of other moisture determinations of hay leads 
to the conclusion that 12.21 is a fair general average of the 
percentage of water in the best quality of barn-cured hay. 
Field-cured grass averages about twenty-five to twenty- 
eight per cent, of moisture. The loss of weight on storage 
is therefore about fifteen per cent, in drying down to 12.21 
per cent. 

The Bulletins of the Rhode Island Agricultural 
Experiment Station, or Farmers' Bulletin No. 77, published 
by the United States Department of Agriculture, tells how 
and when to use lime. Details of excellent grass experi- 
ments, to be found in recent Bulletins issued by the Rhode 
Island Agricultural Experiment Station, Kingston, Rhode 
Island, tell about Nitrate of Soda. 

It may not be out of place here to men- ^. f s H 

tlon the fact that Mr. Clark's success in tt ^ • 

... 1111 -11 r L as Used m 

obtammg remarkably large yields or nay ^, i,> r^ 

f 1 r c ' v>iarK s ijrai 

tor a number or years, an average or nme p , . . 

tons of cured hay per acre for eleven years 

in succession, has been heralded throughout the United 

States. He attributes his success largely to the liberal 

dressings of Nitrate of Soda which he invariably applies to 

his fields early in the spring, and which start the grass off 

with such a vigorous growth as to shade and crowd out all 

noxious weeds before they get fairly started and which 

result in a large crop of clean and high-priced hay. 

It is also known that many who have tt^„,V>„„^p , 

, , . Ill • 1 r M How Careful 

tested his methods have met with failure ^. . . ^^. 

, . ^ , , 1 J , Cultivation 

chiefly because they neglected to supply ^^^ ^.^ .^ ^^^ 

the young grass plants with a sufficient p^ofj^abig Use 
amount of readily available food for their n fa:j_„jg 
use early in the spring when it is most 
needed, and before the organic forms of Nitrogen, which 
exist in the soil only in an insoluble form and which can- 
not be utilized by the plants as food, until converted into 
soluble Nitrates by the action of bacteria in the soil. This 



irass 



Grass does not occur to any great extent until the soil warms up 
Growing ^^ summer temperature when it is too late in the season to 
for Profit, i^gj^g^^ ^.]^g crops' early spring growth. 

lo It is important that we always bear in mind the fact 

that our only source of Nitrogen in the soil for all plants 
is the remnants of former crops (roots, stems, dead leaves, 
weeds, etc.) in different stages of decomposition, and that 




Rock before Blasting with One Pound of Forty Per Cent Dynamite. 

In the early spring there is always a scarcity of Nitrogen in 
the soil in an available form, for the reason that the most 
of that which was converted into soluble forms by the 
action of the soil bacteria during the warm summer months 
of the previous year was either utilized by the plants 
occupying the ground at that time or has been washed 
down below the reach of the roots of the young plants by 
the melting snow and the heavy rains of late winter and 
early spring. 

When we consider the fact that most plants require 
and take up about 75 per cent, of their total Nitrate 
Ammoniate during the earlier stages of their growth and 
that Nitrogen is the element most largely entering into the 



building up of the life principle (or protoplasm) of all Grass 

for Profit. 



plants, it is plain that we cannot afford to jeopardize the '"•'^'"S 



Hay. 



chances of growing crops by having only an insufficient 
supply of immediately available Nitrogen when it is most 
needed. 

In the case of hay, from timothy and 
other grasses, the experiments that have 
been conducted answer the first question — "What shall I 
use" — as follows : Use Nitrate of Soda, because it is a food 
element that is especially needed; it is soluble in water and 
can be immediately taken up by the plants and supplies 
them with that which they need at the time they need it — 
it can be used by them early in the spring before other 
forms of applied Nitrogen are usable and before other soil 



., ■ ^^^^^^^^^^ 


. \^- '■'^^Lr.^^l^^^B^SSS^^'S^S'-.-. 






^'■;.^.,,'^ -r^ . _i-^-J-^^ 


; .^Htf?^5^:;:y' 



Same Rock Shattered by the Explosion of Dynamite. 

supplies are available. The results of experiments con- 
ducted through a period of nine years, and in different 
sections of the State, show that upon soils which will 
produce crops ranging from one to three tons per acre, a 
gain in yield of from 9 to 54 per cent., or an average 



Grass increase of 32.7 per cent., may be expected from the use 

Growing Qf fj-Qj^ jqo to ICO pounds per acre, which would show an 
for Profit . . . ^ 
^ average gain in yield of 654 pounds per acre; based on the 

^^ average yield of 1.25 tons per acre, the gain would be 820 

pounds. This increase, at an average price of |i2 per ton, 

would mean about ^5 per acre, or ^2 more than the cost 

of the material. A very satisfactory profit, when it is 





Whole Field, except Center, Fertilized with Fourteen Per Cent. Acid Phosphate, Six 

Hundred Pounds ; Sulphate of Potash, Two Hundred Pounds } Nitrate 

of Soda, Two Hundred Pounds; yield, three tons cured hay per acre. 

Square in Center of Field had Six Hundred Pounds Acid Phosphate, and Two Hundred 

Pounds Sulphate of Potash, but no Nitrate of Soda; yield, 

one ton cured hay per acre. 

Highland Experimental Farms, New York. 

remembered that it is obtained at the same cost of labor 
and of capital invested in land. 

Q According to Dr. Wheeler's experiments 

in Rhode Island, soils are less exhausted 
when complete fertilizers are used with Nitrate than when 
no Nitrate is used. The soda always left behind after the 
Nitrate of Soda is used up aids always the lime and potash, 
and unlocks the soil silicates and thereby frees potash, 



13 



lime and magnesia. The feeding value of hay is far greater Grass 

when Nitrate is used as a fertilizer in this connection. Growing 

for Profit. 

Rhode Island Formula. 

Nitrate of Soda ?oo lbs. 

Sulphate of potash 200 lbs. 

Acid phosphate or its equivalent, Peruvian guano. . .400 lbs. 

Practical Conclusions. 

From these striking results it must be evident that 
grass land as well as tilled fields is greatly benefited by 
Nitrate, and that it would be to the advantage of most 
farmers to improve the fertility of their soils by growing 
good crops of grass, aided thereto by liberal fertilizing. 

Top-Dressing ^^'^ application should be in the form 
Grass Lands. °[ ^ Top-Dress.ng, applied very early m 
the spring m order that the first growth 
may find readily available material for its support and be 
carried through the season with no check from partial 
starvation. 

On land which shows any tendency to sourness, a ton 
to the acre of slaked lime should be used every five or six 
years. This makes the land sweet and promotes the growth 
of grass plants of the best kinds. 

Lime should be sown upon the furrows and harrowed 
into the soil. Top-dressing with lime after seeding will not 
answer, and, in the case of very acid soils, the omission of lime 
at the proper time will necessitate re-seeding to secure a good 
stand of grass. 

All the elements of fertility are essen- p 
tial so that ordinarily complete fertilizers ^"^^^^ , 

may be used. Nitrate being used as a Top- p"^ i^rohtable 
Dresser, though on some soils rich in phos- 
phoric acid or potash, one or both of these ingredients may 
be used in small quantity. This is particularly true of 
phosphates after lime has been applied to the soil, since 
lime aids to set the phosphoric acid free from its natural 
insoluble combinations. 

Grass seems to demand less phosphoric acid than was 
applied in the test; but it responds with increasing profit 
to applications of Nitrate of Soda up to 350 pounds to the 
acre when potash and phosphates are present. 



Grass Qn such soils as that of these plats, the best fertilizer 

Growing combination for annual application appears to be : 
for Profit. j i u ^^ 
400 pounds phosphate. 

H 200 pounds sulphate of potash. 

300 pounds Nitrate of Soda. 

No stable manure has been used upon the field under 

experiment for over twenty years. 



OPINION OF 

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

FARMERS' BULLETIN No. 227, 

(PREPARED IN THE OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS.) 

A. C. TRUE, Director. 



EXPERIMENT STATION WORK.- 

Vol. II. No. 10, 

Top-Dressing Grass Land.'^ 

Grass lands require special fertilizer treatment. After 
the meadow has been established on land of good fertility 
and in good tilth and crops of hay are removed each year, 
the original supply of plant food is diminished and the 
productiveness of the meadow necessarily decreases. In 
order to maintain its profitable yielding capacity the supply 
of plant food must be kept up through fertilization. The 
method of applying fertilizers presents some difficulties 
which are not encountered in fertilizing the soil for most 
of the other crops. The grass remains upon the land con- 
tinuously for a series of years and there is no opportunity 
for plowing under green manure or applying barnyard 
manure or commercial fertilizers and incorporating the same 
into the soil from the time one crop is removed until the 
succeeding one is put in, as can be done in the culture of 
annual crops. Furthermore, the coarser undecomposed 
material of barnyard manure which remains upon the 
meadow is likely to be raked up with the hay, which is a 
decided disadvantage, and the manure sometimes also has 

a A progress record of experimental inquiries, published without assumption of responsibib'ty 
by the Department for the correctness of the facts and conclusions reported by the stations. 
i> Compiled from Rhode Island Sta. Buls. 57, 71, 82, 90, 103. 



the effect of reducing the quality of the grass by causing a Grass 
rank growth and by the introduction of weeds. The use p'^°*'"^ 

• • • for Profit 
of commercial fertilizers on meadows has the advantage of '- 

leaving the barnyard manure produced on the farm avail- 'S 

able for other crops, to which it can be more readily and 

satisfactorily applied. If barnyard manure is to be used on 

a meadow it should be applied as a uniformly fine and 

well-rotted compost. 

For the different reasons given, and also on account 

of the greater availability of the plant food they contain, 

certain commercial fertilizers are better adapted to 

top-dressing grass lands than barnyard manure. The farmer 

must know, however, the kinds and quantities of fertilizers 

best suited for this purpose, at what time the application 

should be made, and whether under ordinary conditions 

he may expect a profitable return. These questions have 

been studied by the Rhode Island Station in an experiment 

extending over a period of six years, and the results 

obtained are here briefly summarized. 

The experiments were begun in 1899 on three plats, 

numbered 17, 19 and 21. Since 1893 these plats had been 

devoted chiefly to the growth of leguminous crops and had 

received annually 180 pounds of muriate of potash and a 

quantity of phosphoric acid approximately equivalent to an 

application of 1,200 pounds of acid phosphate containing 

from 13 to 14 per cent, of available phosphoric acid. 

During this same period plats 19 and 21 received each 

year 150 and 450 pounds of Nitrate of Soda per acre, 

respectively, while plat 17 received no Nitrogen and had 

probably not received this element for from fifteen to 

twenty years. In 1897 all plats were treated with one ton 

per acre of slaked lime. In 1898 7.5 pounds each of 

common red clover and redtop and 15 pounds of timothy 

per acre were sown, with barley as a nurse crop. The yields 

of hay obtained in 1899 were as follows: Plat 17, 5,075 

pounds; plat 19, 6,300 pounds, and plat 21, 6,913 pounds 

per acre. The hay from the no-Nitrogen plat consisted 

almost entirely of clover, while the crop from the other 

two plats was largely redtop and timothy. The results 

of this season indicated that large crops of grass require 

considerable quantities of immediately assimilable Nitrogen 

applied early in the season, and that good crops of clover 



Grass can be grown on limed land without supplying Nitrogen 

Growing • ^^ ^^^ f^^^^ ^f commercial fertilizers. Allowing twenty per 

for Profit. ^^^^^ ^^^ shrinkage in the hay and estimating the value 

'^ of the different crops at from ^9 to I15 per ton, plat 17 

gave a difference of $6.09 per acre over the cost of the 

fertilizer applied; plat 19 a difference of 1 14.34, and plat 

21 of ^19.62. 

In 1900, soon after the grass started to grow, all plats 
received the regular dressing of potash, phosphoric acid 




The Tedders follow the Mowing Machines for rapid curingj of heavy crops of hay. 

and Nitrogen, but in 1901 the fertilizer application per acre 
was changed to 807.5 pounds of acid phosphate, containing 
130- pounds of phosphoric acid; 200.52 pounds of muriate 
of potash, furnishing 100 pounds of potash, and 133.52 
pounds of Nitrate of Soda on plat 19 and 400.56 pounds 
on plat 21, supplying 21 and 6^ pounds of Nitrogen, 
respectively. 

Throughout the entire experiment plat 17 received no 
Nitrogen; plat 19 a one-third ration, and plat 21 a full 
ration. The results obtained with the modified application 





General application. 


Plat 17, no 
Nitrogen. 


Plat 19, one-third 
ration. 


Plat 21, full 
ration. 


Year. 


Potash. 


Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 


Hay per 
acre. 


Value of 
crop over 
fertilizer. 


Hay per 
acre. 


Value of 
crop over 
fertilizer. 


Hay per 
acre. 


Value of 
crop over 
fertilizer. 


1899 

1900 

1901 


Pounds 
88.31 
90.38 
100.00 
150.00 
150.00 
150.00 


Pounds. 
164.1 
191.1 
130.0 
130.0 
130.0 
130.0 


Tons. 
2.54 
2.00 
1.65 
1.48 
1.64 
1.25 


$6.09 
13.42 
12 13 
7.44 
7.70 
3.60 


Tons. 

3.15 

2.80 

3.78 

2.43 

1.85 

2.05 


$14.34 
20.37 
23.97 
16.52 
9.38 
10.71 


Tons. 
3.46 
4.10 
4.70 
4.10 
3.83 
4.07 


$19.63 
30.40 
40 70 


1902 

1903 

1904 


33.74 
27.81 
30.30 






Average.... 






1.76 


8.40 


2.51 


15.88 


4.03 


30.27 



The results for the six years show that without Nitro- 
gen an average of 1.76 tons, with one-third the fuJl 
application 2.51 tons, and with the full application of 
Nitrogen 4.03 tons of field-cured hay was secured per acre. 
A satisfactory stand of timothy was maintained for the six 
years only on the plat which received the full ration of 
Nitrogen, and this plat also produced the highest market 
grade of hay. It was found that where the full ration of 
Nitrogen was given a ton of field-cured hay removed from 
the soil 32 pounds of potash, 13. i pounds of Nitrogen, 
and 6.^ pounds of phosphoric acid. In each of three years 
in which determinations were made more Nitrogen was 
supplied in the full ration than was removed by the crop. 
With potash and phosphoric acid alone the value of the 
crop per acre exceeded the cost of the fertilizers on an 



17 



emphasized the need of properly adjusting the quantities Grass 
of the different elements given in the fertilizer application. 5''^°p'"^ 

The reduction of the Nitrate of Soda from 450 to 400.56 1 

pounds and of the acid phosphate from 1,200 to 807.5 
pounds and the increase of the muriate of potash from 1 80 
to 200.52 pounds reduced the cost of the application and 
resulted in higher profits. The treatment of the plats in 
1902 was essentially the same as the year before, with the 
exception that the quantity of muriate of potash was raised 
to 303.26 pounds, furnishing 150 pounds of actual potash 
per acre. During the last two years of the six-year period 
the fertilization was the same as in 1902. The principal 
data secured in the experiment are shown in the following 
table: 

Results Obtained in a Six-year Fertilizer Experiment 
on Grass Land at the Rhode Island Station. 



Grass average per year by ^8.40; with one-third the full Nitro- 

Growing ^^^ application, by $15.88, and with the full application 

for Pro It. Qf ]s^j|-j.Qgen by I30.27. Determinations of the shrinkage 

^^ in barn-curing hay showed that it ranged from about 13 to 

19 per cent. 

For three years an experiment was conducted on two 
plats to determine the best quantity of phosphoric acid to 




Two Horse Hay Tedder, ready to operate. 

be applied per acre. An average annual yield of 4.16 tons 
of barn-cured hay was obtained where 40 pounds of phos- 
phoric acid was applied, and 4.54 tons of field-cured hay 
where 60 pounds was used. A potash test was conducted 
on the same plan. The average annual yield of field-cured 
hay where 150 pounds of potash were used was 5.1 tons 
per acre, and where 200 pounds were used ^.^ tons. 

The data derived from the experiments show that 
good financial returns may be obtained from grass culture 
with the use of commercial fertilizers alone. The use of 
400 to 500 pounds of acid phosphate and 300 to 350 
pounds of muriate of potash and Nitrate of Soda per acre. 



applied from April 15 to 25, is suggested as being best Grass 
adapted for use as an annual top-dressing on grass lands "^"p '"^ 

where a good stand of timothy and redtop already exist, — 

where a too great degree of soil acidity does not prevail, 
and where commercial fertilizers only are used. 



19 



FERTILIZING HAY CROPS. 

From the California Experiment Station Annual Report, 1904. 
(The Cereals Are Much Used for Hay Crops on the West Coast.) 

The California experiments with -fertilizers on hay 
crops, begun in 1901, were continued during the season 
of 1902-3. During the season of 1 901-2 it was found that 
the use of Thomas phosphate slag and sulphate of potash 
with Nitrate of Soda did not pay as well as Nitrate of Soda 




A Side-delivery Rake in Operation. 
Highland Experimental Farms, New York. 

used alone. The experiments during the last season were 
planned to test the availability of the phosphate after the 
first season. It was thought last year that there was a 
possibility that the insoluble slag phosphate would become 
more available the second season after applying it. The 



Grass plots used in the 1901-a experiments were subdivided and 
rowing gjygj^ different applications of Nitrate of Soda used alone 

'- and in combination with sulphate of potash used at the rate 

*° of 300 pounds per acre. 

The yield of hay was lower on both fertilized and 
unfertilized plots during the season of 1902-3 than it was in 
1 901-2. This difference is undoubtedly due to an unfav- 




The Loader is of great service in handling hay quickly, 

orable season. The late spring rainfall failed almost entirely, 
and to this no doubt must be attributed the decreased yield. 

An inspection of the summary of results tabulated 
below shows that the heaviest yields of hay on both red and 
granite soils and the largest money returns per acre were 
obtained from the plots which were fertilized with phos- 
phate during 1 901-2. On red soil with oats the gain from 
the use of Nitrate of Soda on the plot which had phosphate 
the year previous was $11.70 per acre, as against only 
I3.72 per acre where the Nitrate was used on land having 
no previous fertilization. 

On granite soil with oats, there was no gain from the 
phosphate. The use of Nitrate of Soda alone without pre- 
vious fertilization yielded I9.44 per acre profit, while on 
the plots having phosphate applied the previous year, the 
gain was only I5.74 per acre. 

The heaviest yield of hay and the largest profit per 



acre in 1903 were obtained with wheat on granite soil which Grass 
had an application of Thomas slag, sulphate of potash, and Growing 
lime in 1902. Nitrate of Soda was used at the rate of 320 ^°'' P*""^' ^- 
pounds per acre in 1903. The yield of hay was 5,772 *' 
pounds per acre, and the resulting profit 1 12.89 P^^ ^c^^- 
It should be remarked here, however, that this plot was 
fertilized at a loss of |2 1.50 per acre in 1902; and as the 
application of Nitrate was larger than was used on any other 
plot, the increased returns were at least partly due to the 
increased supply of the Nitrate. Through some misunder- 
standing, there was no corresponding wheat plot on granite 
soil with Nitrate only. 




Whole Field, except center, Fertilized with Fourteen Per Cent. Acid Pliosphate, Six 

Hundred Pounds ; Sulphate of Potash, Two Hundred Pounds; Nitrate of 

Soda, Two Hundred Pounds ; yield, three tons per acre of cured hay. 

Square in Center of Field had Six Hundred Pounds Acid Phosphate, and Two Hundred 

Pounds Sulphate of Potash, but no Nitrate of Soda j yield, 

one ton per acre of cured hay. 

Highland Experimental Farms, New York. 

The use of sulphate of potash in combination with 
Nitrate of Soda, on granite soil, did not pay in 1903. 
Potash was used at the rate of 300 pounds per acre. In 
most cases the fertilizer cost more than the increased crop 
of hay was worth; hence its use incurred a loss of from 76 
cents to ^4.57 per acre. 



Grass 

Growing 

for Profit. 



The experiments with Nitrate of Soda used alone were 
broadened in 1 903 to test the efficacy of different amounts 
per acre and the division of the application into two doses. 
The results show that in 1903, 160 pounds of Nitrate of 
Soda per acre in one application yielded the largest profits, 
viz.: I9.44 and ^8.90 per acre, respectively, on two plots, 
on granite soil. In all cases the yield was reduced when 
the fertilizer was put on in two applications ; thus, with 
160 pounds per acre applied in two doses, only I4.82 and 
$7.27 per acre were yielded by two plots on granite soil. 



Fertilizer Experiments on Meadow Land. 

(KENTUCKY Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin, No. 23, 
February, 1890.) 

On low and decidedly wet land : 
Timothy. 



Kind of Fertilizer Used 



Sulphate of potash. . 
Muriate of potash. . 
Nitrate of Soda. . . 
Sulphate of ammonia 

No fertilizer 

Stable manure 

Tobacco stems .... 



Amount 


Yield of Hay 


Per Acre 


in Pounds 


in Pounds 


Per Acre 


160 


1,900 


160 


2,320 


160 


2,670 


130 


2,520 




1,620 


20 loads 


2,200 


4,000 


3.350 



Clearing and Reclaiming Lands. 

In recent years, dynamite has come to be generally 
used for the preliminary clearing and reclaiming of land, 
and especially for the shattering and pulverizing of rocks 
and the removal of stumps. Modern tools and machinery, 
such as the disk-harrow and leveler and improved plows 
and scrapers, permit the preparation of land on the Atlantic 
Seaboard fully as workable, and as convenient in every way 
for the best improved heavy hay and harvesting machinery 
as is the case of lands of the Mississippi Basin. These 
remarks apply also to land adapted to general use as well as 
to farming. 



Almost every farmer shall be able to clear from five to Grass 
thirty acres of such land, and he may become an effective Growing 
competitor of the more favored Western producer to a ° ° ' " 



greater extent than ever before, if he chooses. ^3 

In the preparation of both old and new lands for grass, 
thorough tillage is desirable, and the surface of the ground 
should be well smoothed, in order that modern machinery 
may be operated successfully and economically. This 
remark applies especially to New York and Pennsylvania 
and to New England, where the character of the country is 
largely rolling and frequently rocky. Thousands of acres 
of virgin land remain in these States to be reclaimed for 
cultivation. From the standpoint of proximity to good 
markets, such lands should well repay the cost of clearing, 
if it be thoroughly done. Such a plan, with modern 
facilities, offers to the farmer in these States, an opportunity 
to increase his acreage and the productive capacity of his 
farm. This means an added value to every farmer's holding. 
Photographs are shown in the text of the clearing 
of land for grass-seeding, including the removal of timber ; 
and, secondly^ the shattering of rocks by means of 
dynamite. Usually one pound of 40 per cent, dynamite 
will throw a large stump and will shatter a large rock in 
sufficiently small pieces to remove by wagon or stone-boat. 
After the land is cleared, the disk-harrow and leveler should 
be used to pulverize the soil and kill the weeds. Several 
harrowings are usually necessary for this purpose. During 
such harrowing, the mineral fertilizers and liming may be 
applied. Nitrate of Soda should not be used until the 
following Spring, and on new seeding 200 pounds to the 
acre of Nitrate of Soda as a top-dressing is all that should 
be used the first season. This applies, however, only to the 
first year of the new seeding. Afterwards, 300 pounds of 
Nitrate may be used, provided adequate mineral applica- 
tions of phosphate and potash are made also. 

When Nitrate is used alone as a top-dressing — that is, 
unless the minerals have been previously applied — 100 
pounds per acre is enough; but it should be remembered 
that to make as small an application as 100 pounds per 
acre requires considerable care, the tendency being, unless 
such care is exercised, to make the application unnecessarily 
heavier with consequent possible loss of profit. 



Grass Nitrate can sometimes be used alone some seasons at 
Growing ygj-y great profit and, especially on old meadows, frequently 
for Profit, .-'^i^ ruu ^'ii- jt 
the production or hay can be very materially increased. In 

the long run a full ration of the minerals is better for both 
the soil and the crop. Generally speaking, in the Hay Belt 
of the United States, two crops of grass may be grown at a 
profit every year. 



24 




Plot ready for Record of Weights to be Taken, 
Highland Experimental Farms, New York. 

Immediately after harvesting the first crop, the minerals 
and Nitrate should be applied, and a satisfactory formula 
is as follows. This applies to intensive practice : 

200 lbs. Nitrate of Soda. 

200 lbs. Sulphate of potash. 

600 lbs. ground bone, or Peruvian guano or acid phosphate. 

The illustrations shown in the text are intended to 
include the whole operation of the preparation and seeding 
of grass-lands, the application of fertilizers, the cutting and 
harvesting and storing of hay and preparation of the same 
for market. The photographs are taken from actual opera- 
tions in the field and are intended to give a complete 



outline of the whole industry of grass growing. The Grass 
machinery and tools have been found to be very satisfactory Growing 

J ^ J ^u • 1 ^u ur • for Profit, 
and to do their work thoroughly in every respect. 

The average yields per acre of field-cured hay on the *S 
uplands were as follows : 

No-Nitrate, 3,180 pounds per acre. 

Where 300 pounds of Nitrate were used, 8,340 pounds 
per acre. 

The average yields on the lowlands were as follows : 

No Nitrate, 6,985 pounds per acre. 

Where 200 pounds of Nitrate were used, 8,7 i 2 pounds 
per acre. 

Grades oFHay and Straw. 

The following are the rules and regulations adopted 
by the Chicago Board of Trade for the inspection of hay 
and straw: 

Choice Timothy Hay : Shall be timothy not mixed 
with over one-twentieth of other grasses, properly cured, 
bright, natural color, sound and well baled. 

No. I Timothy Hay: Shall be timothy mixed with 
not more than one-eighth clover, red-top, and other tame 
grasses, properly cured, good color, sound and well baled. 

No. 1 Timothy Hay : Shall include all timothy not 
good enough for No. i, not over one-third mixed with 
other tame grasses, fair color, sound and well baled. 

No. 3 Timothy Hay: Shall include all hay not good 
enough for other grades, sound and well baled. 

No. I Clover Mixed Hay : Shall be timothy and 
clover mixed, with at least one-half timothy, good color, 
sound and well baled. 

No. 1 Clover Mixed Hay : Shall be timothy and 
clover mixed, with at least one-third timotjiy, reasonably 
sound and well baled. 

No. I Clover Hay : Shall be medium clover, not over 
one-twentieth other grasses, properly cured, sound and well 
baled. 

No. 1 Clover Hay: Shall be clover, sound, well baled, 
not good enough for No. i. 

No Grade Hay : Shall include threshed timothy and 
all hay badly cured, musty, stained, or in any way unsound. 



26 



Grass Choice Prairie Hay : Shall be upland hay, of bright 

Growing qqIqj- ^q\\ cured, sweet, sound and reasonably free from 
for Profit. ,' ^ 

. . weeds. 

No. I Prairie Hay : Shall be upland, and may contain 
one-quarter midland, of good color, well cured, sweet, 
sound and reasonably free from weeds. 

No. 2 Prairie Hay : Shall be upland of fair color or 
midland of good color, w^ell cured, sweet, sound and reason- 
ably free from weeds. 




717 

No treatment. 

2200 lbs. hay per acre. 



716 



160 lbs. Nitrate of Soda. 
3550 lbs. hay per acre. 



320 lbs. Acid Phosphate. 
160 lbs. Nitrate of Soda. 
3840 lbs. hay per acre. 
Fig. 18. — These plats show in a very marked way the influence of Nitrate of Soda on the 
yield of hay. (Cornell Univ. Bulletin No. 232.) 



No. 3 Prairie Hay : Shall be midland of fair color or 
slough of good color, well cured, sound and reasonably free 
froms weeds. 

No. 4 Prairie Hay : Shall include all hay not good 
enough for other grades and not caked. 

No Grade Prairie Hay : Shall include all hay not good 
enough for other grades. 

No. I Straight Rye Straw : Shall be in large bales, 
clean, bright, long rye straw, pressed in bundles, sound and 
well baled. 



No. 1 Straight Rye Straw: Shall be In large bales, Grass 
long rye straw, pressed in bundles, sound and well baled, ^""o^'"? 
not good enough for No. i. ^°'' P*""^'* 

Tangled Rye Straw : Shall be reasonably clean rye ^7 
straw, good color, sound and well baled. 

Wheat Straw: Shall be reasonably clean wheat straw, 
sound and well baled. 

Oat Straw : Shall be reasonably clean oat straw, sound 
and well baled. 

All certificates of inspection shall show the number 
of bales and grade in each car or lot inspected and plugged ; 
and, when for shipment, the final inspection and plugging, 
in order to ascertain the sound condition of each bale, shall 
take place at the time of shipment. 

The fees for inspection shall be I3.00 per car, to be 
divided equally between the buyer and seller. 

CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



Bulletin 232. 
The most important result as shown, both in the 
growing crop and in the weights of hay was the influence 
of the Nitrate of Soda. In every instance where Nitrate 
of Soda was applied a marked increase in the vigor of 
growth as well as in the weight of hay was produced. The 
influence of the phosphoric acid and potash was much less 
marked in all instances. When Nitrate of Soda was doubled 
without increasing the acid phosphate or the muriate of 
potash the apparent increase in yield was more than doubled, 
but when the phosphoric acid was doubled without increas- 
ing the Nitrate of Soda or the muriate of potash the yield 
was decreased. (See cut on opposite page.) 

RHODE ISLAND EXPERIMENT STATION. 



Bulletin 104. 

"Some readers of this Bulletin will recall the rabid attacks upon 
Experiment Station chemists made a few years ago in the agricultural press by 
the late Andrew H. Ward, of Boston, in which he denounced the chemists 
for not giving the same recognition to soda as to potash as a manure, upon 
the ground of its alleged ability to replace potash in plant production. To 
such as may have known of those published criticisms, the verdict against the 



28 



Grass equality of soda in plant production returned in this experiment by the plants 
Growing themselves, ought to remove any further doubt concerning the merits of the 
for Profit, case. It can not be disputed, however, that soda is of some use in some 
manner with many varieties of plants, when the supply of potash is quite 
limited, and also with at least a few varieties of plants even in the presence 
of a fairly abundant supply of potash. Whether sodium salts would be 
rendered useless with all varieties of plants if the supply of potassium salts 
were greatly increased is a point which is not as yet fully proved, nor is it 
fully clear as yet in just what manner the sodium salt has been helpful in this 
particular experiment. This is a question which will be considered later in 
connection with the chemical analyses of the crops. It may, however, be 
stated here that sodium salts seem to liberate at least phosphoric acid and 
potash, so that under certain circumstances they may act as indirect manures. 
They also appear under certain conditions to prevent plants from assimilating 
large amounts of potash in excess of their needs, thereby conserving the 
potash supply within the soil. It does not appear unlikely, when the supply 
of potash is limited, that sodium salts may aid in some degree in performing 
some function of potassium." 



^'^'WP'wSBIwif^Hll^fll^' 




I. Without Nitrogen. a. i/^ Ration of Nitrogen. 3. Full Ration of Nitrogen. 

All three fertilized alike with muriate of potash and acid phosphate. — R. I. Bui. 103. 

The After-effect of Sodium and Potassium Salts. 

(From RHODE ISLAND Agricultural Experiment Station 
Bulletin, No. 106, May, 1905.) 

This experiment was a continuation of tests upon the 
same forty-eight plots upon which annual applications of 
sodium and potassium salts had been made since 1894. 

In 1902, 1903 and 1904 no further applications of 
sodium or potassium salts were made, but each plot con- 
tinued to receive annual applications of phosphoric acid 
and Nitrogen. Where the large applications of potassium 
salts had been made previously, it was found that timothy 
and clover were much better able to persist than elsewhere. 
The influence of the previous applications of potassium 
salts still continued in a most striking manner even the third 
year, in all cases where large amounts were used at that time 
as was fully demonstrated by the much greater yields of hay. 



29 



Considerable evidence was afforded that the earlier Grass 
applications of sodium salts were now helpful by way of Growing 

increasing the crops of hay in those cases where the previous \ 

applications of potassium salts had been large. It seems 
possible that this may have been due, in part at least, to 
the retention in the soil of a part of the previous applica- 
tions of potassium salts, by virtue of extra soda having 
been taken up by the preceding crops in the place of 
superfluous potash, whereby the potash supply in the soil 
was really conserved. 

Owing to the marked peculiarities of different varieties 
of plants, it was not expected that direct manurial benefit to 
the grass would necessarily result from the use of the sodium 
salts, even if such a direct effect might possibly occur in the 
growth of radishes, beets, turnips, and certain other plants. 

Stack Cover or Barrack. 

Extract from The Ohio Farmer (Dec, 1905). 

J. E., Avery, O., requests that we publish a portable 
roof for stacks, one that can be raised and lowered. We 
present a brief description and picture that first appeared in 

The Ohio Farmer of 
February 20, 1904. 

The diagram, here- 
with, shows the true way 
to frame around the cor- 
ner post and the manner 
of arranging the sweep 
for raising and lowering. 
Four straight chestnut 
poles 11 feet long are 
selected from the woods 
and bored with holes one 
foot apart to receive the 
bolts which support the 
roof. They are set four 
feet in the ground and 1 8 feet apart, as that is a convenient 
size to make a barrack. The plates are four by six inches, 
made of white pine or some other light wood, as is all the 
material of the roof. Lightness is important and the roof 
boards are made of one-half inch material. The brace across 
the corner is made of 2-inch plank spiked strongly to the 




BARRACK FRAME — CP, corner post ; R, 
rafter ; B, brace 5 P, plate ; Y, yoke ; T, temple ; 
S, sweep 5 A A, roof boards. 



Grass plates. It is of such a height that the rafter which rests on 

Growing ^^ •£ projected through the corner post, would meet the 

for Profit. £j.^^g ^^ intersection of the plates. The roof boards are cut 

around the corners, leaving a hole a few inches larger than 

the corner posts. A little rain that gets in at the corners or 

through the roof does practically no harm as the open 



30 




Stack Cover or Barrack for Hay. In use in New Jersey. 

condition of the barrack favors quick drying. Barracks are 
much to be preferred to stacking ; are convenient and 
cheaply built. — G. Davis. 

General Directions for Staple Crops, r 

The use of Nitrate of Soda alone is never recom- 
mended, except at the rate of not more than one hundred 
pounds to the acre. It may be thus safely and profitably 
used without other fertilizers. It may be applied at this 
rate as a top-dressing in the Spring of the year, as soon as 
vegetation begins to turn green ; or, in other words, as 
soon as the crops begin new growth. At this rate very 
satisfactory results are usually obtained without the use 
of any other fertilizer, and the Soda residual, after the 
Nitrogenous ammoniate food of this chemical is used up by 
the plant, has a perceptible effect in sweetening sour land. 



When it is desired to use a larger amount than one Grass 
hundred pounds per acre of Nitrate of Soda as a top- ^'■°^'"g 
dressing, or in any other way, there must be present some ^^^^^^^^ 
form of phosphatic and potassic fertihzer, and we recom- 3' 
mend not less than two hundred and fifty pounds of either 
acid phosphate; or fine ground raw rock; or Peruvian 
guano ; and two hundred and fifty pounds of some high- 
grade potash salt, preferably the sulphate. A much larger 
amount than one hundred pounds of Nitrate per acre, when 
used alone on staple crops, is generally sure to give an 
unprofitable and unbalanced food ration to the plant. For 




Hay Press in Operation. 



market gardening crops, however, somewhat more may be 
used alone. When the above amounts of phosphatic and 
potassic fertilizers are used, as much as three hundred 
pounds of Nitrate of Soda may be applied with profit. In 
applying Nitrate in any ration it is desirable to mix it 
with an equal quantity of land plaster or fine, dry loam 
or sand. 

Generally on the Pacific Coast Nitrate may be applied 
as a Top-Dressing after the heavy Spring rains are over, 
but before crops attain much of a start. 



Grass Table Showing Prices of Nitrate of Soda 
for Profit. ^^ the Ammoniate Basis. 



3^ 



Figured on Basis of 380 Pounds Ammonia in One 
Ton of Nitrate of Soda. 



Price per 
Cwl. of 

Nitrate. 


Price per 
Ton of 
Nitrate. 


Price 
Ammonia 
per lb. as 
Nitrate. 


Equivalent 

Price 

Ammonia 

per Ton unit. 


Equivalent 

Cost of 

Nitrosren 

per lb. 


$1.85 


$37.00 


$0,097 


$1.95 


10.118 


1.90 


38.00 


0.100 


2.00 


0.122 


1.95 


39.00 


0.103 


2.05 


0.125 


2.00 


40 00 


0.105 


2.10 


0.128 


2.05 


41.00 


0.108 


2.16 


0.131 


2.10 


42.00 


0.111 


2.21 


0.134 


2.15 


43.00 


0.113 


2.26 


0.137 


2.20 


44.00 


0.116 


2.31 


0.140 


2.25 


45.00 


0.118 


2.37 


0.144 


2.30 


46.00 


0.121 


2.42 


0.147 


2.35 


47.00 


0.124 


2.47 


0.150 


2.40 


48.00 


0.126 


2.53 


0.153 


2.45 


49.00 


0.129 


2.58 


0.156 


2.50 


50.00 


0.132 


2.63 


0.159 


2.55 


51.00 


0.134 


2.68 


0.162 


2.60 


52.00 


0.137 


2.73 


0.165 


2.65 


53.00 


0.140 


2.78 


0.168 


2.70 


54.00 


0.143 


2.83 


0.173 



This table enables one to compare commercial quota- 
tions on ammoniates with accuracy. The figures themselves 
are not quotations in any sense of the word, and all the 
figures of the table refer only to one grade of Nitrate of 
Soda, namely: that containing 15.65 percent, of Nitrogen, 
equivalent to 19.00 per cent, of ammonia. It is prepared 
merely in order that purchasers may compare the price of 
Nitrate of Soda which is always quoted by the hundred 
pounds, with the other ammoniates, which are quoted by 
the ton unit. In the first column, therefore, are given the 
prices per hundred weight of Nitrate of Soda ; in the second 



column, the corresponding prices per ton ; in the third Grass 
column, the cost of the contained ammonia per pound, a ^'■^^'"g 
figure which is always discussed, but almost never explained 
in Station Bulletins; in the fourth column, the equivalent 
price of the ammonia per ton unit, and in the fifth column 
are given the corresponding prices of the cost of the Nitrogen 
per pound, a figure also much discussed, but not explained 



for Profit. 



33 




Hay Press in Operation — Another View. 

in Bulletins. The important figures to remember are the 
price per hundred weight, the price per ton and the equiva- 
lent price of the ammonia in the Nitrate per ton unit. The 
table is prepared to cover fluctuations in price running from 
one dollar and eighty cents per hundred, to two dollars and 
seventy cents per hundred; or from thirty-six dollars^ ^o fifty- 
four dollars per ton. 

Increased Yield per Acre of Crops receiving Nitrate 
of Soda over those receiving none. 



Wheat, . . 19 bushels 
Oats, ... 28 bushels 
Corn, ... 24 bushels 
Barley, . . 20 bushels 
Potatoes, 76^4^ bushels 



Sweet Potatoes, 87 bushels 
Hay, .... 4,880 pounds 
Cotton, . . , 700 pounds 
Sugar Beets, 14,150 pounds 
Cabbages, . 23,200 pounds 
Carrots, . . . 546 bushels 



Onions, . 5,400 pounds 
Turnips, . . 37 per cent 
Strawberries, 816 quarts 
Asparagus, 280 bunches 
Celery, .... $276.55 
Tomatoes, 218 baskets 



Index. 



PAGE 

Abstract of Rhode Island Experiments 5 

After-effect of Sodium and Potassium Salts , 28 

Alkaline Soil, An all 7 

Annual Crop, Great Bulk Produced 3 

Average Increase from Use of Nitrate of Soda 6 

Cereals are Much Used for Hay Crops ig 

Chief Hay Producing States. , 3 

Clark's Grass Cultivation g 

Clearing and Reclaiming Lands 22 

Clearing Land for Seeding, Illus ^ 

Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin No. 232. . 27 

Economical and Profitable Practice 13 

Effect on Quality of Hay 6 

Excess of Value of Hay 8 

Extract from Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin No. 23 22 

Fertilizer Experiments on Meadow Land (Ky.). 22 

Fertilizing Hay Crops 19 

Financial Profit from Use of Nitrate 7 

General Directions for Staple Crops 30 

Grades of Hay and Straw 25 

Grass 12 

Grass Crop Will Remove, Good 3 

Grass Growing for Profit 1 

Hay n 

Hay Press in Operation (Illus. i) 31 

Hay Press in Operation (Illus. 2) 33 

Hay Tedder (Illus.) 18 

How it Pays 7 

How Careful Cultivation May Aid 9 

How Nitrate Improves Quality 6 

How Nitrate Neutralizes Soil Acids. , 7 

Increased Yield per Acre of Crops Receiving Nitrate of Soda Over 

Those Receiving None 33 

Lime Should be Sown 13 

Lime After Seeding Will Not Answer 13 

Making Two Blades Grow 5 

New York State Produced 3 

Nitrate if Used Under Proper Conditions 4 

Nitrate Improves Quality , 6 

Nitrate Neutralizes Soil Acids 7 

Opinion of U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 14 

Percentage of Timothy 7 

Plot Ready for Record of Weights (Illus.) 24 

Practical Conclusions 13 

Potassium Salts and Sodium, After-Effect 28 ' 

Redtop Does Well on Acid Soils 7 

^Reliable Top-dressing 5 



PAGE 

Results in a Six Year Experiment (Rhode Island) 17 

Results of Experiments on Timothy (lllus.) 12 

Rhode Island Formula 13 

Rhode Island Experiments, Abstract and Review 5 

Rhode Island Experiment Station Bulletin No. 104 27 

Rock Before Blasting (lllus.) 10 

Rock Shattering (lllus. ) i 6 

Rock Shattering (lllus. ) 2 8 

Rock Shattered (lllus. ) 11 

Seeding Should Be Done 3 

Shrinkage in Weights 3, 4 

Side Delivery Rake in Operation (lllus.) .' 19 

Sodium and Potassium Salts After-EfFects 28 

Sour Grass Lands 3 

Stack Cover or Barrack , 29 

Staple Crops ' . [ 30 

Table Showing Prices of Nitrate of Soda on Ammoniate Basis 32 

Timothy Grass 22 

Timothy and Related Grasses 3 

Top-dressing Grass Lands 13 

Top-dressing Old Grass Lands 3 

What the Figures Show 5 

Wheeler's (Dr.) Experiments in Rhode Island 12 

Yield of Cured Haj Under Different Rates of Nitrogenous Fertilization 5 



The Harder Hay Press, 

Manufactured by 

The Harder Manufacturing Company, 
Cobleskill, New York. 

This machine is recommended for Pressing Hay, and has been 
found to do excellent work in practical trials. 

For specific information, write to the above address. 



The Worcester Hay Tedder, 

Manufactured by 

The Richardson Manufacturing Company, 
Worcester, Massachusetts. 

Does excellent work. 
Write to them for information. 



THE miHAIIDUN HEII, 1Ii WIU.I>II IT. NIW Y 



